


Those Things

by missmichellebelle



Category: Glee RPF
Genre: Canon Compliant, Cooking, Domestic Bliss, Drinking, Fluff, M/M, Rain, Romance, Texting, long distance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-04
Updated: 2013-07-04
Packaged: 2017-12-17 15:57:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/869324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missmichellebelle/pseuds/missmichellebelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Because no one else in the world is Darren, and so no one can ever love him the way Darren does.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Those Things

**Author's Note:**

> Written for CrissColfer Week's theme "Music and Lyrics."
> 
> Triple asterisks separate parts, and single asterisks separate scenes within a part.

_Is he gonna kiss you in the rain?_

***

The water  _tip tap tip taps_  on the roof, loud and heavy. Chris keeps looking up, like maybe he'll be able to see it, but the roof of his trailer still isn't transparent. He debates the idea of opening up a window, or even the door, so he could have the pure sound of rain fall against cement rather than muffled by the walls of his trailer, but he doesn't. What he really wants is to go home and curl up with his laptop, the rain providing the perfect backdrop for writing.

But it's only half way through the day, and Chris has no doubt that the rain is going to slow everything down. It had only broken a few minutes after he'd gotten into his trailer, and he knows getting back to set without ruining his costume or his make-up and hair is going to be an ordeal.

There are two sharp raps on the door that have Chris looking toward it in surprise, but before he can get up or ask who it is, it's pushing open and Darren is rushing inside.

"Shit, it's raining." But he's laughing, the door rattling shut behind him as he shakes some of the water off. Darren is out of costume, and that's more surprising than Darren just showing up out of the blue. Maybe he's coming to tell Chris that the storm is  _so bad_  that they've decided to cancel shooting for the day.

It's incredibly unlikely, but Chris isn't going to count it out as a possibility.

" _Is it?_ " Chris mocks, voice dripping with sarcasm, and Darren scrunches up his face and flips Chris off. His face is damp, and there's water droplets clinging to his ungelled hair, and Chris wonders how anyone can come out of pouring rain (because it's  _definitely_  pouring now) and look as good as Darren manages.

"You're such a dick," Darren responds, cheerfully, and Chris lips stretch in a grin.

"Please tell me you're here to say that we're done shooting and I can go home." Chris flops back onto his couch, and Darren walks over and flops next to him.

"We're done shooting and you can go home," Darren mimics.

"Really?" Chris looks at him, surprised and excited.

"No, but you told me to say it, so—"

Chris shoves him, hard, and Darren falls onto his side and laughs.

"I was sent to fetch you. They set up a few make-up stations on one of the sets, and they need to start touch ups," Darren tells him, once he's calmed down.

"You're the bearer of bad news," Chris groans. He looks at the window and frowns—it's still raining pretty hard, and he doesn't exactly have an umbrella. Given how Darren's clothing is still damp, it doesn't look like he brought one with him, either. He sighs heavily, and then pushes to stand up. Darren makes a noise, holding out his arms, and Chris gives a look before heaving him up.

"My hero," Darren purrs, batting his eyelashes, and Chris nearly pushes him back down onto the couch.

"Come on. If I run through the rain, do you think the water damage to Kurt's outfit will be more or less?"

"More," Darren answers immediately. "Dude, this one time on Myth Busters—"

"Oh god," Chris groans, but he laughs, heading towards the door as Darren follows after him. He sighs as he opens the door, looking out at the rain with a frown.

"Afraid of a little water?" Darren goads from behind him, close enough that Chris can feel the heat coming off his body.

"No. I just don't make a habit of running through the rain." Not that it rains enough for him to make a habit of it.

There's a sudden shove to his back, and Chris is stumbling out the door and into the rain. He nearly slips down the trailer steps, arms pinwheeling as he gains his balance and water sloshing up his boots. For once, he's actually glad for wardrobe's footwear choices. The rain is still beating down steadily, already ruining his hair and soaking in through his shoulders and upper back. He's still for just a moment before he spins to look at Darren, who is standing at the foot of the trailer, rain pelting on his skin, grinning at Chris.

Chris means to say something, something possibly mean and offensive and insulting, but he just makes a high-pitched noise of disbelief as Darren walks toward him, kicking up water with his sneakers.

"I can't believe you did that!" Chris screeches. But, as annoyed as he feels, he doesn't actually feel angry. He feels wet and he kind of wants to make Darren pay in some way, but he's not  _mad_. He tries to be, or tries to make Darren  _think_  he is, even when there's a smile trying to tug up the corner of his lips.

"Really?" Darren lifts an eyebrow, and—well, Chris maybe should have seen it coming. "And here I thought you knew me."

"Wardrobe is going to  _kill_  you."

"They were probably going to make you change, anyway! Or, like, attack you with blow dryers or some shit." Darren's face scrunches up, as if he hadn't really thought about it. Chris doesn't really enjoy the feeling of rain beating down against his skin, but he turns and starts walking slowly and deliberately back towards Darren. "What are you doing?" Darren asks once he notices, sounding amused. When Chris doesn't answer, his voice sounds a little more cautious. "Chris?"

With a few feet left between them, Chris jerks towards him. Darren let's out a rough scream and darts to the side, starting to run as Chris goes after him. It's probably one the most dangerous things he's ever done, and he's laughing so hard that his lungs hurt. There's a part of him that totally knows he's going to slip on the slick asphalt and end up road burning the front half of his body, but right in that second, he doesn't care.

He rounds a corner, colliding with a wet  _smack_  into Darren's body. Chris doesn't even think about it, wrapping his arms around Darren before going, "got you!" They're both laughing, and it's then that Chris realizes that Darren's facing him. His face skews up.

"Hey, wait—"

But Darren presses their lips together. Chris spends about half a second freaking out, before he realizes that they're tucked between two of the sound stages and there's no one else around. It's still raining, still cold water bouncing off his skin and drenching his hair and clothing, but Chris kisses back, because that's what Chris does when Darren kisses him.

"That," Darren starts, when they pull apart, and Chris watches a rain drop run over the curve of his lips, "is not as awesome as it looks in movies."

"We both look like drowned rats, that probably has something to do with it." Chris is still wound around Darren, and the press of their wet clothing isn't at all comfortable. But he still doesn't let go.

"At least I'm a romantic drowned rat?" Water runs in rivulets down Darren's nose, continuing onto Chris's when he presses them together.

"Yeah." Chris grins. "I  _guess_ ," he says, as if he's admitting it with great reluctance. Darren growls, and pulls Chris in for another kiss. It's still wet, and Chris is starting to get cold, but Darren's lips are warm and soft as they move against his.

Kissing in the rain might not be on Chris's list of favorite things to do, but kissing Darren  _is_. And, well, nothing will ever be like kissing Darren in the rain.

***

_Is he gonna cook on Sunday?_

***

Chris wakes up to an empty bed and the smell of bacon. The comforter is rucked down to his waist and the air conditioning is making the room just cold enough that cuddling with a warm body is absolutely perfect.

Except that Chris is missing the warm body that's usually wrapped around him

But he's past the time when things like that make him feel worried. He can still remember when he used to wake up by himself and the  _fear_  that would set in, the panic. It lessened, but it didn't go away for a long time.

It's certainly gone now.

Chris stretches out his limbs and takes a few long moments to just lay, sprawled across the bed, eyes closed but with no plans to go back to sleep. The smell of breakfast wafts on the air, and it makes Chris's stomach twist in anticipation and hunger.

He walks downstairs, body still loose and heavy from sleeping, tucked into sweats and a t-shirt. The TV is on in the living room, even though the only living thing around to hear it is Brian, curled up and sleeping on the couch. Even if he could use the remote, Chris doubts he'd be watching  _Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?_

Darren's in the kitchen. Chris knows even before he's there, because he's singing along with the opening theme song of the cartoon playing in the other room. There isn't even the opportunity to come up behind him and hug him, because Darren turns to look at Chris almost immediately.

"Morning, sleepy-head." There are eggs sizzling in a pan, but Darren dances over quickly to press a scruffy kiss to Chris's cheek anyway.

"It's not even past nine." Chris yawns, trailing after him into the kitchen. "I don't really call that sleeping in  _on our day off_."

Darren just casually shrugs, still wearing a smile, and Chris lazily tucks his chin over Darren's shoulder, watching as he slides the eggs around in the pan.

"What's for breakfast?" Chris asks, pressing close to Darren's back and humming when Darren pushes back against him.

"Eggs." He lifts the spoon he's using, holding it to Chris's mouth. It's hot, but delicious—Darren doesn't like to just make plain ol' scrambled eggs if he has the time, preferring to mix in some kind of cheese or some kind of vegetable or a myriad of other things. At first, it had been kind of weird, but there haven't been many occasions where Darren has made something Chris wouldn't eat.

"Bacon." He flourishes with the spoon to a plate on the counter, hidden beneath a paper towel. "And—well, I went out and got some bagels, but we can do toast if you want."

"Bagels are good." Chris finally returns the kiss on the cheek, although his lands more on Darren's jaw. He slips away, heading for the brown paper bag on the counter, and starts to sift through it. "Rye?"

"You know me so well." Darren looks over at him with a smirk. "Toasted, with—"

"Butter. Obviously." Chris gives him a look.

They work around each other in silence, although the TV is loud enough that it might as well be in the kitchen with them. Chris remembers when he was used to quiet mornings, sitting in bed with his laptop, grabbing a granola bar or a piece of toast if he felt hungry. Darren doesn't do quiet mornings, unless they involve lying together in bed, trading lazy kisses, and—well, those mornings don't stay quiet very long.

"I was going to bring it to you in bed," Darren says with a bit of a pout as he scoops eggs onto plates, and Chris spreads too much cream cheese on his bagel.

"Dork," Chris responds, affectionately, and Darren hip-checks him as he walks past.

They settle down on the couch to eat, briefly disturbing Brian, but he tucks his head under his paw and goes back to sleep almost immediately. Darren brings out mugs, his smelling thickly of coffee while Chris's is cool to the touch and fizzes at the top.

"Did you really pour diet coke into one of my mugs?" Chris asks with a laugh as Darren hands it to him.

"Yep. The can was throwing off my lazy Sunday morning aesthetic."

Chris looks at the plate balanced on his lap, and the food there, and thinks that it's nothing close to his idea of lazy. Darren leans into him, legs drawn up on the couch, bagel hanging from his mouth as he adjusts. Chris watches him for a few moments, smiling fondly, before he starts in on his bacon.

"Is there any reason we're watching a show that's like forty years older than we are?"

"Because it's awesome. And because you have Boomerang, and I like to extort the shit out of that."

"Using me for my cartoons."

"Only on Sundays."

***

_Is he gonna love you?_

***

It starts with a kiss pressed to the corner of his mouth, something that's sweet and chaste. Not a  _nothing_  kiss, because Chris can't describe any kiss with Darren as  _nothing_ , but it's something close to that idea. Something that is so simple that it's nearly insignificant, like the brush of fingertips across an arm when they walk past one another.

Darren is draped over half of him, and the one kiss turns into a shower of kisses, a slow dotting of soft, lingering touches on Chris's chin, the tip and bridge of his nose, between his eyebrows, his temple, his eyelid, the dimple of his cheek. It makes Chris smile and feel a little giddy, and that just makes Darren kiss his smile.

It stops being chaste the second Darren sucks on Chris's lower lip, and Chris's mouth falls open. But it doesn't stop being sweet, or slow. There's no clothing between them, and so Darren's hands wander freely, the touches light and fleeting over Chris's neck, arm, chest, hip.

"Mmm, what are you doing?" Chris hums.

"Touching you," Darren says in reply, pressing his fingers into the muscle of Chris's thigh before curling it over his own hip. Chris watches him, curious and amused, but doesn't fight it. Darren drags his lips lower, and the brushing kisses turn lingering as he moves down Chris's throat to his sternum. His body shifts lower down the bed, dragging over Chris's skin and making him push up into the movement subconsciously.

Darren dips lower, running the flat of his tongue over Chris's nipple and drawing out a shudder, before mouthing over to the other one. Chris has the urge to tilt his head back, to close his eyes, but he keeps them on Darren instead.

"Kissing you," Darren breathes, and it takes Chris a little longer than it should to realize that Darren is still answering his question. He keeps moving lower, kissing the dips between Chris's ribs, following the curve to his waist before licking inwards toward his navel. Chris giggles a little bit—it tickles—and Darren grins into his skin.

Chris can feel the faint stirrings in his cock, but he's still spent from their last round. So when Darren stops, sucking a kiss into Chris's hip before resting on his stomach, Chris doesn't complain. He closes his eyes, reaching down and petting through Darren's hair, feeling completely content. Chris's leg is just hanging across Darren's body now, and Darren is stroking his thigh in a way that kind of tickles but still feels nice. The usual tiredness that settles into Chris's limbs after sex comes back, coaxed along by Darren's gentle touches and the brush of his breath and the occasional kiss on the soft, sensitive skin of his hip.

"Cherishing you," Darren whispers, and Chris opens his eyes, glancing down. Darren's thumb moves back and forth over Chris's skin. "Loving you."

"Hmm?" Chris inquires, tiredly.

"I'm loving you," Darren answers, tilting his face upwards just enough so that their eyes meet. Chris smiles, small and intimate and just for Darren.

"I love you, too."

***

_Is he gonna take you when he knows that it's out of his way?_

***

"Darren!"

Chris is falling. He's not really sure why, but it's okay, because Darren's hands wrap around his arms and keep him from hitting the floor. Darren is so  _nice_. And Darren smells so  _good_.

"Woah there, Chris, are—"

"You smell good," Chris tells him, and giggles, leaning into the warmth of his chest because standing is hard. But it's also hot. Chris tugs at his t-shirt and frowns.

"You smell like tequila." Darren is laughing, so Chris laughs, too.

"That's because tequila is awesome," Chris tells Darren, eyes lighting up. "We should have  _more_  tequila." He tugs on Darren, trying to pull him back towards the kitchen which is where Chris remembers having the tequila in the first place. Tequila is  _awesome_. He wobbles, and Darren steadies him again.

"I think you've had enough tequila."

" _No_ ," Chris tries to say as convincingly as possible, but it ends up sounding more like a whine. "You haven't had enough, you need more. You—" Chris totters into him again, face pushed into the fabric of Darren's collar, and he slumps against Darren completely. "You smell so good."

Darren doesn't say anything, but Chris thinks that maybe he laughs. He does rub his hand up and down Chris's back though, over the curve of his spine, and it makes Chris's legs feel jello-y. 

Wow, standing is hard.

"Got you," Darren says, a bit of strain in his voice.

"What's wrong?"

"You just sort of collapsed, you realize that, right?"

"I did?" Chris looks down, and his knees are bent all funny, and hey, he isn't really standing anymore. Wow, that's weird. He giggles, too, because it's also  _really_  funny. "I'm not standing up," he tells Darren, because doesn't Darren realize how  _funny_  that is? "Oh my god,  _Darren_ , my legs are being  _weird_."

Darren does laugh then, and somehow he gets Chris's feet under him again. Probably because Darren is magic.

"I think I should take you home."

"I am home," Chris says, because he lives here now. Wherever here is. It's a totally awesome place to live.

"No, you're at Chord's house—"

"Chord's house is so great. Chord!" Chris yells, because he doesn't know where he is but he needs to know how awesome his house is. "Darren, I need—where's Chord? Because I need to tell him—" Chris laughs, leaning closer and wrapping his arms around Darren's neck, "—I need to tell him how awesome his house is, and how awesome he is. Chord is—Chord is a  _great_  person, don't you love Chord?"

"Yep. But come on." Darren shifts them around and it's kind of like dancing. Chris likes dancing with Darren. It feels nice. He moves closer and sways with him, and Darren laughs again, and then they are dancing around. It makes Chris feel a little dizzy, and his head is so heavy that it flops around on his shoulders. He whines, and they stop dancing.

"Darren…" Chris whimpers, because his head feels weird and his stomach feels bad and Darren is magic. Darren can make it better.

"Yeah, I know. Come on, I'll take you home." They twist around, and suddenly Chris is under Darren's arm and he can't  _see_  him anymore, but that's okay because he needs to close his eyes anyway. Wow he's tired. He is  _so_  tired. "Actually, my place is closer, so—"

"No, home," Chris insists. "I need to—Brian, and bed. Home."

"Brian will be fine, and you need—"

" _Home_." Chris forces his eyes open and looks at Darren. "I need to go home, I want to go home, and there's a bed there. Wow, bed, beds are nice, I need my bed now."

"My bed is closer, baby." Darren's voice drops lower and his hand sweeps up and down Chris's back again. It feels so good, especially when he gets to the top and strokes through Chris's hair. If Chris was a cat, he'd purr. He tries to purr anyways, but it makes him feel a little sick so he stops.

Being a cat would be cool.

"I'm a cat," he tells Darren, and then blinks again. "Brian is a cat, I need—I need home, please?"

Darren is quiet for a few seconds, and then he kisses Chris's head. Chris knows it's a kiss, because it feels like one. Chris loves Darren kisses. Darren should kiss him more. He turns to him and tilts his face up, and Darren kisses him because Darren is the best person in the world.

Chris loves Darren.

"Alright, alright. I'll take you home. Do you feel like you might be sick?"

"No, you're magic."

Darren laughs, but Chris is  _totally_  serious and Darren makes all the bad go away. He really is magic. Chris will have to ask him how, because Chris wants to be magic, too. It's unfair if Darren gets to be magic all by himself. He should share.

"Okay, well, you should have some water anyway."

"And sleep!" Chris declares, waving his arm up.

"And sleep," Darren agrees.

"With cuddles." Chris looks at Darren, daring him to argue.

"Duh."

***

_Is he gonna miss you?_

***

 **From Darren:**  
     I miss youu

 **From Chris:  
**      I just left like five minutes ago

 **From Darren:**    
     I still miss you   
     The bed is all cold now

 **From Chris:**    
     stop it before I make the car turn around

 **From Darren:**    
     That's really bad incentive   
     Like really REALLY bad   
     Seeing as I want you to turn the car around

 **From Chris:**    
     you say that like I don't want the car to turn around

 **From Darren:**    
     Good   
     It's decided then   
     Just come back

 **From Chris:**    
     Darren

 **From Darren:**    
     Chris

 **From Chris:**    
     you know I can't

 **From Darren:**    
     I know

 **From Chris:**    
     I'm only gone a week

 **From Darren:**    
     Longest week of my LIFE

 **From Chris:**    
     youll live

 **From Darren:**    
     Will I Chris?   
     Will I?

 **From Chris:**    
     you better   
     I don't sleep with corpses   
     necrophilia is just not my thing

 **From Darren:**    
     Now THAT'S incentive

*

Chris's hotel room is big and sterile and doesn't make him feel at home at all. Which is probably for the best. He's here for one night before he's off to a different one entirely, and knows there are several hotel rooms in his future. He doesn't even plan on unpacking—he doesn't mind living out of a suitcase for the next week.

He takes a picture of the really amazing shower in the bathroom, the bed that's way too big for one person, and the view out the window, sending all of them to Darren.

 **From Darren:**    
     Why are you sending me pictures of places we'd fuck if I were there

 **From Chris:**    
     you want to fuck on the Chicago skyline???

 **From Darren:**    
     I meant the window   
     But I'm not opposed to the skyline idea

 **From Chris:**    
     I'll see what I can do

 **From Darren:**    
     You're evil   
     As if I don't miss you enough already

 **From Chris:**    
     this isn't missing me   
     this is missing sex

 **From Darren:**    
     I miss sex with you   
     Don't cheapen that   
     But I ALSO miss you you

 **From Chris:**    
     me me?

 **From Darren:**    
     You you

 **From Chris:**    
     dork   
     miss you too   
     <3

 **From Darren:**    
     Six more days!

 **From Chris:**    
     six more days!

 **From Darren:**    
     :)

*

"Hello?"

"Why are you answering the phone like you don't know who it is? My face pops up when I call. I know it does. I set it up to do that."

"Because I like to antagonize you?"

"Wow. Dick."

"I can hang up."

"I'll just call back. And call back again. And leave you voicemails until it's full. Voicemails of me  _breathing_."

"I think that's grounds for a restraining order."

"I'd break it. I'd go to prison to be with you, Christopher."

"…is a fan holding a gun to your head and making you sound like a creepy stalker?"

"Nope. It just comes naturally."

"You know, I should have seen the signs."

"Probably. They were all there. But I can't blame you, I'd be distracted by my dashing good looks, too."

"Dashing, huh?"

"Fuck yeah. Don't deny it."

"Wasn't gonna."

"…wait, really?"

"I could do with your dashing good looks right about now, actually…"

"Oh, baby. Why do you think I called you?"

"…Darren, honey, I love your voice, but it's not really helping with the  _missing your face_  thing."

"No, I meant… I miss your face, too. And your voice. And you."

"…I know. I miss you, too."

"Four days, though."

"Four days."

*

 **From Darren:**    
     I saw you on TV   
     In your interview

 **From Darren:**    
     I might have recorded it

 **From Darren:**    
     And rewatched it

 **From Darren:**    
     Six times?

 **From Darren:**    
     Seven now

 **From Darren:**    
     You need to come home now

 **From Darren:**    
     Eight

 **From Darren:**    
     You looked really good by the way   
     And the interview was good   
     But that's not surprising

 **From Darren:**    
     Nine

 **From Darren:**    
     This is pathetic   
     Seriously   
     Come home

 **From Darren:**    
     Ten

 **From Darren:**    
     Can you keep that shirt?   
     You should keep that shirt   
     Like   
     Seriously   
     Keep that shirt

 **From Darren:**    
     May have just jacked off to you in said shirt

 **From Darren:**  
     CHRIS   
     PAY ATTENTION TO ME

 **From Darren:**    
     Are you home yet?

 **From Darren:**    
     What about now?   
     WHAT ABOUT TODAY   
     WHAT IF YOU'RE MAKING ME   
     ALL THAT I WAS MEANT TO BE

 **From Darren:**    
     Dude serenading through texts is super ineffective

 **From Darren:**    
     I miss you so much   
     I might be dying

 **From Darren:**    
     I have been poisoned and only your kiss can cure me   
     AKA COME HOME   
     SAVE ME

 **From Darren:**    
     C   
     H   
     R   
     I   
     S

 **From Chris:**    
     you jacked off and didn't send me a recording?   
     what kind of long distance boyfriend are you?

 **From Darren:**    
     CHRIS!   
     Also I am an awesome boyfriend   
     From all distances   
     But I am best at approximately 1cm away

 **From Chris:**    
     1cm?   
     really?

 **From Darren:**    
     If you think you are getting any further away than that when you get back   
     You are very wrong   
     Even when you piss   
     I'll be right there

 **From Chris:**    
     youre kind of weird

 **From Darren:**    
     Yes   
     But I also just like   
     Really fucking miss you   
     That too

 **From Chris:**    
     I miss you too   
     two days!

 **From Darren:**    
     Longest two days of my life

*

 **From Chris:**    
     off the plane   
     <3

 **From Darren:**    
     <3

 **From Chris:**    
     I love the perks of being famous   
     like not having to wait at the baggage carousel

 **From Darren:**    
     That would be your favorite perk

 **From Chris:**    
     who said it was my favorite?   
     I'm just saying it's awesome

 **From Darren:**    
     I wish they'd let you ride the baggage carousel just for being famous

 **From Chris:**    
     I know

 **From Darren:**    
     I asked one time

 **From Chris:**    
     I know that too

 **From Darren:**    
     They said no   
     :(

 **From Chris:**    
     wow I am so surprised

 **From Darren:**    
     The fact that I can hear your sarcasm in a text message   
     Do you think maybe we spend too much time together?

 **From Chris:**    
     I can leave for another week?

 **From Darren:**    
     Ha ha ha   
     Don't   
     I will seriously get on a plane and follow you

 **From Chris:**    
     heading to the car now   
     I'LL SEE YOU SOON!

 **From Darren:**    
     YEAH YOU WILL

Chris grins down at his phone, not even bothering to slip it into his back pocket as he goes to get in the car. After all, he'll just pull it out and keep texting Darren. Or catch up on email. Or play games.

Someone opens his car door, and Darren is on the other side.

He nearly drops his phone on the pavement.

"D—" He stops himself, looking around, and then ducks into the car, slamming the door behind him. "Darren?"

"No, I'm a robot clone that he had custom made for you. That way you never have to be without him again."

"Oh my god,  _shut up_." And Chris launches himself at Darren, getting caught in his arms and hearing him laugh. Darren pulls him close and holds him, tilting Chris's face up before kissing him deeply. "What are you doing here?" Chris asks, shocked. This isn't something they do. It's too risky.

Darren just shrugs.

"I missed you." He traces his finger down the side of Chris's face, and Chris forgets about silly things like traffic safety and seat belts.

"It was only a week." They've been apart for much longer, with much less opportunities to interact, but Darren just shrugs again.

"I still missed you." Darren leans back down, kissing Chris more slowly, and Chris revels in the touch. He doesn't know how Darren did it, but right in that moment, he doesn't care.

Because Darren is there.

***

_No he won't do any of those things._

***

Star Wars Episode V is playing on the TV, but they aren't really watching it. Darren is sitting with his head tilted against the back of the couch, fingers stroking through Chris's hair while his head rests in Darren's lap. Chris, for his part, is just looking at Darren, fingers tapping and curling absently over his denim-clad thigh. He can't see the smile on Darren's face, but he knows it's there. That idea alone makes Chris smile.

Darren's jaw is moving as he quotes along with the movie, and Chris closes his eyes, hugging Darren's thigh close and nuzzling against it. He feels loose, and tired, and inexpressibly happy. Darren's hand rests against his back, a gentle touch between his shoulder blades.

It's such a small moment, but Chris can't think outside of it. He feels so happy that he might burst with it, and it's hard to imagine any moment outside of this one.

But almost every moment with Darren feels that way. Darren just makes him happy in a way that Chris has a hard time articulating.

"I love you," he mumbles into Darren's thigh, and it makes Darren look down, makes his petting fingers pause. He smiles.

"I love you, too."

Chris turns his face upwards, face serious for a moment, and he presses his fingers lightly against Darren's stomach.

"I really, really love you." There's a hint of desperation to Chris's voice—too much earnestness, too much vulnerability, too much emotion. But that's how Darren makes Chris feel, and it's not scary. It's a lot, but… It's not scary.

Darren really does pause then, fingers slipping to cup the curve of Chris's jaw and thumb brushing over the slightly stubbly skin of his cheek.

"And I really, really,  _really_  love you."

He bends down, and Chris lifts up, their lips meeting halfway in an awkward, straining kiss that is still perfect.

Nose still touching Darren's, Chris wonders if one day, someone else will ever love him as much as he knows Darren loves him. He wonders if anyone will ever make him feel as complete as Darren somehow manages. It's completely impossible to fathom, but even if it wasn't, Chris feels like the answer would still be no.

Because no one else in the world is Darren, and so no one can ever love him the way Darren does. If he ever loves again, is ever loved again, it will be different. But it won't be like this.

Chris pushes up and kisses Darren again, and he kisses back, humming pleasantly.

"What was that for?"

Chris raises a hand to press over the spot where Darren's heart is, and he smiles.

"For loving me like no one else ever will."

**Author's Note:**

> If you couldn't tell, it's based on the chorus from Darren's "Any Of Those Things."


End file.
